Chapter Ten: The Horn of War

Boom!

A loud sound of explosion echoed through the city of New Rome, soon followed by more.

Legionaries quickly ran for their weapons.

Lines of soldiers marched from the barracks, archers from the second cohort quickly set up a defensive perimeter around the Pomerian Line, covered by heavy ballistae deployed within the borders of Camp Jupiter.

Percy shoved Zoë onto the ground before hitting the dirt himself. More and more booms came as shells descended onto the soil of Rome like raindrops.

Archers quickly took aim and retaliated with their own rain of gold as arrows pierced through the air, intercepting and detonating the artillery shells before they could land. The third cohort arrived shortly afterwards, crossfire of arrows covered the sky of Camp Jupiter.

Ballistae were pushed out of their bunkers and fired above. Massive explosions occurred, fire consumed everything in its path. An enormous shadow descended from the sky as a massive warship materialized into Romans' view.

Gunners quickly aimed and opened fire, ballistae bellowed in rage as artillery shells were fired at the warship accurately. Unfortunately, everything was slammed onto an invisible barrier surrounding the ship as it kept firing at the city and barracks of Camp Jupiter.

Ropes were dropped from the ship as dozens of figures slid their way down. The wore bronze Greek style heavy battle armors and a helmet with red feather attached on it. Some of them had quivers strapped onto their back with bows in their hands. Some of them held a spear and some were equipped with a sword and a shield, all bronze.

Then, it began.

Those warriors charged into the lines of the second and the third cohort as the legionaries struggled to keep them away from their archers. The warriors cut through the lines of shields with ease, more and more Roman dropped to the floor, dead as the warship continued to fire at the lines of the cohorts.

Growling loudly, Percy got back on his feet while Zoë looked at him, concerned.

Percy quickly summoned his Adamantine sword and Egis, while Zoe uncapped Anaklusmos and unsheathed one of her hunting knives.

"We need to get that ship down." Percy shouted under the loud sounds of explosion while Zoë nodded in return.

Percy grabbed his hand and a bright light engulfed both their bodies. A few moments later, Percy and Zoë both fell on the floor, clutching their heads in pain.

"What the Hades was that?" Zoë asked as she struggled to get back on her feet.

Percy shock his head, while leaning his weight onto his Adamantine blade for support, "I have no idea. I can only assume the barrier blocking the legion's firepower is also blocking teleportation, guess Mercury's blessing won't be much of a use for now."

Percy retracted Egis into his watch as his left arm wrapped its way around Zoë's waist, causing her cheek to turn a faint pink while Zoë threw Percy a questioning look.

A pair of wings erupted into life from Percy's sneakers as they patted hard, propelling both Percy and Zoë into air. Percy pushed himself and Zoë all the way to the side of the warship, dodging a few bellowing ballistae in the process.

Percy and Zoë halted a few meters away from the ship and the son of Vesta twisted his ring with his free hand, calling Kronos' Scythe into life. Percy place a hand forward, putting it on the barrier as his hand just bounced off powerlessly.

Coldness reflected from the blade as Percy slammed the tip of the scythe onto the warship's barrier. Ripples spread on the surface of the barrier, and then came a loud Bang! Louder than anything Percy has ever heard before. Glass shattered as the barrier broke, a powerful shockwave blasted Percy and Zoë away.

Clenching his jaw, Percy regained his balance in mid-air and willed the wings to propel him and Zoë forward once again. This time, the dual went inside the warship's defense with ease.

Percy and Zoë landed on the deck with a loud thump. Percy dropped to a knee, panting hard as color left his cheek. Kronos' Scythe is the most powerful weapon ever built, a soul reaper, meaning it is a double blade, meaning it can destroy mountains for you, but it drains the life force of its wielder as the source of power.

It didn't trouble Kronos much since he would sacrifice with mortal blood to keep his symbol of power fresh, but it does to Percy. He is a mere demigod and there is no way he would bath such evil blade in the blood of innocent.

Zoë shoved a portion of Ambrosia into Percy's mouth, earning an appreciative look from the son of Vesta while he recovered his strength. Once Percy was back on his feet again, the dual made their way to the front of the ship.

The warship was well designed. It was armed with ballistae covering 360° of the ship, not leaving one dead angle of fire power. The bridge was at the front of the ship, which is where Percy and Zoë are headed.

From what Percy saw earlier, those warriors are all skilled and very trained, it would take approximately 3-5 Romans for one of them. The Romans' advantage on numbers was cancelled out by the heavy fire support from the warship.

Percy and Zoë had to take out a few security guards on the way, nothing the most powerful demigod ever lived and the greatest huntress ever walked on Earth can't handle. The dual opened the doors to the bridge and Percy almost gasped in shock.

In the bridge stood two people, both covered in Greek style battle armor. One of them was a tall man with blonde hair and blue eyes who has a scar running down his cheek. A sword was sheathed on his belt.

Another was a woman who looked a few years younger than the man. She was tall none the less, curl blonde hair rested on her shoulders while her intense grey eyes seemed to be analyzing everything happening around her. A bronze dagger was tightly held in her grasp.

She wore a fake smile on her face when she saw Percy, "Hey there seawead brain! I see Rome has been treating you well."

Percy growled loudly under his breath, "Annabeth." He said with burning hatred in his voice.

Annabeth then turned to Zoë, speaking cheerfully, "Hello there! Although I thought you should be rotting in Hades right now, it's good to see you again."

"Long time no see Jackson." The tall man said with his sword in his hands, poiting the floor of the bridge, "I see you have found yourself a chick."

Zoë reached for her hunting knives, but Percy knew better. He held her back, "Luke." Percy said with a dangerously low voice.

Loud cracks came from outside the ship, ballistae bellowed in rage as retaliating shells were unleashed on the warship, causing the body of the ship to shake violently without the protection of the magical barrier.

Legionaries marched forward, ripping their enemy's lines apart as angry Romans cut their way to the Pomerian Line.

Luke glanced outside the window while Annabeth spoke up, "It doesn't matter if you won the battle today. This is nothing but a small fraction of our army. Rome will still burn when the Mother Earth awakens, as she and her children will accomplish what the Titan Lord has failed to."

Percy eyed Annabeth warily, moving his hand to his bracelet, "You have been helping Kronos?"

Annabeth waved her hand dismissivly, "Yes, but it matters not now. It was only an act to gain the Gods' trust. We serve Gaea now."

Luke's gaze returned to Percy as the ship shook once again under the violent force of explosion, "Remember this, Percy. Greece and Rome never mix. Everytime they come together, death follows. You have chose those pathetic Olympians while," Luke paused before gesturing to the new figures who just entered the bridge, a few Greek demigods Percy recognized from the survivors of the Battle of Manhattan, and a few unfamiliar faces, all fully armed, "The smarter of the two has chosen the winning side."

"And I will be there to light the fire myself when Rome burns." Annabeth added smugly.

Percy's fist clenched. His eyes scanned around the bridge, he and Zoë were outnumbered by some of the best fighters Percy remembered back at Camp Half-Blood. This is hardly the time or the place for a fight like this. This information could be crucial to the war.

Quickly, the demigods formed a circle around Percy and Zoë, surrounding them within it. Anaklusmos extended into a three-feet-tall Celestial Bronze sword in Zoë's hands while Egis sprung to life.

Percy pushed Zoë under him as the eyes of Medusa opened, freezing most of the demigods who were too late to cover their eyes on the spot. The power of Medusa petrified those demigods as Luke charged at Percy with his sword out.

A silver hunting knife materialized in Percy's hand as he hurled it at Luke, imbedding deeply into his shoulder. Golden ichor poured out his wound, covering the most of his shirt.

Percy's eyes widened as he was too late to dodge when Luke delivered a hard kick at Percy's stomach, sending him flying while Zoë and Annabeth locked blades.

Percy rolled aside just in time as Luke's sword imbedded into the floor. "Remember this, Jackson." Luke said while pulling his sword out, "You are an immortal, but not a God. It will be the death of you."

Percy's eyes narrowed in defiance as he met Luke's strike with his own. Sparks danced wildy as metals clashed.

The ship shook again, a loud siren sounded in alarm, causing Luke to curse loudly. He flipped over a table and pushed a large red button on the control panel.

A strange sensation came into Percy's mind. Every fibre in his brain is telling him something really bad is about to happen. He jumped and wrapped his arms around Zoë shoulder who, just got pushed back by Annabeth.

Percy summoned as much shadows as he could master and wrapped them around his and Zoë's bodies. They dissolved in darkness before they could even land.

Line Break

Percy's body hit the ground of New Rome painfully. His stomach felt like it had been twisted into half a dozen knots. Whatever it was Luke did back on the bridge, it made his ship vanish from sight. Must have been some sort of teleportation.

Percy managed to get back onto his feet painfully. He blinked to see Zoë doing the same. Chaos was everywhere. New Rome was burning, barracks were shattered, the city was torn upside down.

The ballistae and anti-air artileries Percy insisted to be built weren't much of use since the barrier of the ship held strong.

He and Zoë had too lean on each other for support, causing Percy to blush slightly. He saw Reyna racing towards them, the dual staggered their way to the praetor.

"Thank Gods you two are alright!" Reyna said with relief present in her voice.

"Listen," Percy said urgently, "We don't have much time. That was an attack planned by Terra. Those people were the Greeks, they are working for Terra now. I suspect there is going to be another lager scaled attacked in a few days."

Reyna replied nervously, "I'll have to report this to the senate. The numbers are not good. We lost over 1/3 of our ballistae and gun bunkers, about 1/5 of the legionaries were either killed or too injured to fight anytime soon."

"Get Jason," Percy said, "Tell him we have to leave for our quests now. The sooner we take off, the sooner we are back. We don't have time for a senate meeting right now. Evacuate as much citizens as you can, the attack is imminence."

Reyna nodded before racing to find Jason. Percy and Zoë quickly packed for the quest and grabbed Hazel on their way.

Percy turned to look down at Camp Jupiter. New Rome has been more of a home to him than anywhere else in the past few weeks. He remembered how he stumbled across San Fransisco like yesterday, and now he is leaving to a quest he had no idea whether he'd be able to return from or not.

He then looked around him, where Zoë and Hazel stood. They have been his only comfort ever since he arrived in New Rome. Even if he dies right here right now, he would be happy because he has friends like them right next to him.